Archer Daniels' 2Q profit doubles on grain demand

Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. reported a surge in profit on higher global demand for U.S. grains.

The results pushed shares $1.72, or 3.6 percent, higher to $49.06 in premarket trading.

The Chicago-based agribusiness giant saw profit more than double to $566 million, or $1 per share. Adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share far exceeded Wall Street expectations of 78 cents per share.

Revenue jumped 14 percent to $17.07 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts for $15.8 billion.

The company saw higher volumes and margins for corn, wheat and soybean exports as supply disruptions impacted markets in Argentina and Brazil. Transportation and oilseeds revenue also rose.

ADM shares have increased 18 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed nearly 5 percent. The stock has climbed 13 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ADM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ADM